‘Lawless Land’ – Israeli Supreme Court Rejects Petition to Shut Down Sde Teiman Prison

The New York Times revealed Israel's systematic torture and abuse at the Sde Tainan detention center. (Photo: screen grab)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

“In the petition, we argue that the severe violations of the detainees’ rights make the deprivation of liberty in the facility unconstitutional and therefore impossible to continue holding detainees.”

The Israeli Supreme Court has rejected a request by civil society organisations to shut down the notorious Sde Teiman Prison, where horrific human rights violations against Palestinian detainees have been reported.

The request came as part of a petition filed in May by the Association for Civil Rights, the Doctors for Human Rights, Gisha, Hamoked and the Committee Against Torture, the Middle East Monitor (MEMO) reported on Thursday.

A statement by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) said the petition demanded the closure of the prison located in the Negev Desert in southern Israel where cases of torture, abuse and rape of Palestinian detainees have taken place, according to Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights organizations.

“The testimonies paint a disturbing picture similar to terrifying detention centers from third world countries and ‘dark’ regimes: severe abuse of prisoners, surgeries without anesthesia, imprisonment in appalling conditions, physical punishment, denial of food, medical care, visits, and violation of other basic rights,” ACRI stated. “The detainees are held in horribly crowded conditions, with no beds or showers. Various reports indicate that at least 27 people have died at the facility in recent months.”

“Unconstitutional’

The organization noted that since the beginning of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza in October 2023, the facility has witnessed the detention of hundreds of Palestinians in deplorable conditions, with no beds or adequate shelter.

“In the petition, we argue that the severe violations of the detainees’ rights make the deprivation of liberty in the facility unconstitutional and therefore impossible to continue holding detainees,” ACRI said.

This morning we petitioned the High Court of Justice together with @PHRIsrael, @HaMokedRights, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and @Gisha_Access, demanding the closure of the Sde Teman detention facility.

The testimonies paint a disturbing picture similar to… pic.twitter.com/X3aM6ugIpu

— ACRI (@acri_online) May 23, 2024

“Government policy has turned Sde Teman’s Detention Center into a lawless land in which detainees are held in subhuman conditions, without any external supervision or any possibility of monitoring what is happening at the facility,” it emphasized.

The organization said, “compelling evidence points to physical and psychological abuse, including tying the detainees’ hands in painful positions, performing surgeries without anaesthesia, leaving them blindfolded for long periods, beatings and severe medical neglect.”

The court rejected the closure request and instead warned the state that it must abide by the law in its treatment of Palestinian detainees there, according to MEMO.

Torture and Rape

Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights reports confirmed the existence of widespread cases of torture and violations against Palestinian detainees, all from Gaza, in the prison.

In August leaked footage from Sde Teiman revealed a group of Israeli soldiers taking a Palestinian detainee to a corner where they proceeded to rape him, as they tried to hide their crime with their shields. The detainee later died of his injuries.

Ten soldiers were detained for the sexual assault but following an uproar from members of the Knesset and Israeli right-wing protesters, five of the soldiers were released.  On August 13, a military court released the remaining five soldiers to house arrest.

Leaked Video – Israeli Soldiers Sexually Assault Gaza Detainee

An unnamed Israeli physician also gave a first-hand account to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz of the inhumane practices detainees from Gaza are subjected to by Israeli forces at the detention facility.

“In one hospitalization tent, there were no more than 20 patients. All had their four limbs shackled to old steel beds, like the ones used in our hospitals years ago. All were conscious and all were blindfolded all the time,” the physician said.

“To hold a person without letting them move any of their limbs, blindfolded, naked, under treatment, in the middle of the desert, … in the end, it’s no less than torture,” he added.

His testimony concurs with previous testimonies by other whistleblowers and human rights organizations as the likes of the B’Tselem Israeli human rights group confirming torture and physical and sexual abuse at the detention center and other detention facilities.

‘Electro-Shocked’

A recently released paramedic from Gaza also testified being taken to Sde Teiman and described being held in a large building “like a warehouse” with chains hanging from the ceiling.

He said he was hung up, dressed in a garment and a headband that were attached to wires, and shocked him with electricity.

‘Doused with Gasoline, Electrocuted, Drugged’ – Gaza Paramedic Details Torture in Israeli Detention

“The world was spinning around, and I fainted. They hit me with batons. I kept fainting and hallucinating. He kept asking me about the hostages, and moving Hamas hostages, and where I was on October 7. With every question I was electro-shocked to wake me up. He told me confess and we will stop torturing you,” he told Human Rights Watch (HRW).

After 20 days, he was transferred, in a wheelchair and unable to stand, from Sde Teiman to a detention facility he called “al-Naqab” prison.

He was cuffed and blindfolded and said soldiers threatened him with rape while he was being transported.

‘Welcome to Hell’

A recent report by the B’Tselem Israeli human rights group documented testimonies from 55 Palestinians incarcerated in Israeli detention facilities.

Titled ‘Welcome to Hell’ the report indicates “a systemic, institutional policy focused on the continual abuse and torture of all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.”

‘Welcome to Hell’ – B’Tselem Documents Network of Torture Camps, Abuse of Palestinians

It documented frequent acts of severe, arbitrary violence; sexual assault; humiliation and degradation, deliberate starvation; forced unhygienic conditions; sleep deprivation, prohibition on, and punitive measures for, religious worship; confiscation of all communal and personal belongings; and denial of adequate medical treatment.

The organization said “no less than 60” Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli custody.

Thousands of Palestinian civilians, including women, children, and health and civil defence workers have been arrested since October 7.

Over the past few months, the army has released dozens of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza in batches, most of whom suffered from deteriorating health conditions and bore signs of torture and medical neglect.

(PC, MEMO)